When I started my weight loss journey, you wouldn’t imagine the times I wanted to quit because I wasn’t getting “quick” results according to me… you know seriously! I had started a program and expected to be 30 Lbs. lighter in a week and I also expected to go from an extremely boa constrictor tight pair of jeans size 10 (of which I popped the button out three times until I finally gave up and realized I was a size 14) to a size 2 in two weeks. The truth though was that I had patiently put on that weight, one pound at a time with every single bad choice of food I had made for a very long, long time. So why would I expect to get results that fast?

We go through life making bad choices and expecting to get better results than anyone else when we decide to do something about it. We somehow think that the weight loss fairy will magically appear during our sleep and by morning we will be swimming in a pair of very large PJ’s only to discover a new, skinnier me in the mirror when we wake up (well that’s what I imagined anyway). I mean seriously  after pushing ourselves to exhaustion and sweating our butts off once… dont we somehow deserve to be 20 or 30 Lbs thinner? I mean I worked my freaking butt off for goodness sake! (ONCE) Shouldn’t I get some kind of reward? I know, you might be laughing but this is how I viewed my weight loss at the beginning.

I have seen so many of my girlfriends going on some crazy diet where they lose weight but never keep it off. The only way you will get results is not with crazy stuff, popping diet pills or wrapping yourself in a cast (yes, that exists). The only way you will see permanent results is by being consistent with your diet and exercise. Remember that when doing a program you must do it the way it was laid out and don’t quit.

Like Tony Horton says “do your best, and forget the rest.” If you need help with your nutrition or would like to find out more about Beachbody workout programs sned me a message

If you have been following my blog, you will probably have read that I had a couple of stressful weeks. Yes, that not-so delightful, gray-hair causing, irritable thing that happens when we’re on a deadline or things are not going as well as we expect them to go…. STRESS came in hissing like a snake and ready to bite my happy butt. If you are one of my friends, you probably know that I am well known for being a “hard worker” or for doing a lot (work, school, being a mom, wife, exercising, translating, interpreting and sometimes putting an event together). So the truth of the matter is that I must enjoy taking a lot of things on, so why stress? I wonder… well maybe I like to be seen as an overachiever or I like it when people think “wow, how does she do it?” The truth of the matter is that no matter how I put it, I like to look good and that’s all there is to it

I had worked out with Tony Horton on Saturday but did not work out on Sunday, Monday or yesterday… why? Because I had a cold and hadn’t slept well, and felt sick, and blah, blah, blah. Truth is regardless of the reasons, I didn’t work out and I felt worse. I got home yesterday and I was feeling extremely exhausted and irritable. I just wanted to go home and sleep and that doesn’t work very well when you have a 3 year old who has been waiting to see you all day and who probably doesn’t quite understand why mommy doesn’t want to play today.

I got home last night in a MAJOR funk and when I asked myself why, I realized I hadn’t worked out for two whole days! And it occurred to me… I’ve been doing Insanity so I must at least have some results now, right? And so it was that I decided to finally take that bikini I bought after the holidays and take pictures just to see what results I had gotten. To my surprise, my tummy is almost flat! I discovered that this was the only thing I needed to get myself back on track and out of that dreadful funk. I happily went to bed committed to working out this morning, no matter what, no excuses… but then I coughed my head off all night and according to Joseph, I was “breathing funny” although he didn’t use those words, it was “honey, you weren’t really breathing funny, you sounded like a stuck carburetor.” Although I know that’s not true (cause I never heard it!)… fine! So I guess he doesn’t quite like my lullabies.   Regardless, I caused him to get very little sleep. (Good thing we’re married because the whole embarrassment of sounding like a stuck carburetor just disappears when you’re married… trust me on this one, it’s  a GOOD thing)

When the alarm went off at 4:30 this morning, Joseph refused to get up (understandably). So I worked out by myself for the first time in 3 weeks. To my surprise, although the cough is still there, I am feeling much better, I have energy and I have been able to stay focused on my projects and the funk is completely gone.

Yes I know, I need to listen to my body, because it wouldn’t be smart for me to just workout if I have a fever. We need to use some common sense here people. The truth is that I slept well, regardless of the (ahem…) carburetor noises I was making and I didn’t have a fever.

This to me was a good lesson on what Tony Horton calls “Exercise Bipolar Disorder” as he put it so simply in his book: “When you move your body, you heal your mind.” The funny thing is that I instinctively have known this for years. I took on running years ago, mainly because I thought that running was giving me an outlet for my negative feelings and at the time I was going through a nasty divorce from an unhealthy marriage. I ran and loved the feeling of the wind hitting my face, the fresh breeze and smell of the ocean as I jogged 13 miles from Santa Monica to Will Rogers’ Beach and back. I ran because my body kept telling me to keep going while my mind kept telling me that if I only ran a few more steps I’d feel better… and finally at the end of the 13 miles I did. Much better, more refreshed and stronger. I got in shape in no time during that year. It was emotionally difficult but also emotionally strengthening, awesome and empowering at the same time. And so it was, that I got addicted to all those feel-good brain chemicals, but hey, if I’m going to be addicted to something, why not something that is actually GOOD for me?

Years ago I started running as a means of escaping all the frustration and feeling of failure from a marriage that hadn’t gone as I had planned and then I couldn’t stop running, and took on running several 5K’s (my best time was 23 minutes), and then I just ran because it felt, oh so good… as good as a glass of Pinot Noir and a piece of dark chocolate… that good. The same thing I did now, I started working out to get healthier, because I want to live long and see my daughter grow up and be as much part of her life as I can and now, I am working out because I just can’t stop, I feel great, I feel strong and it makes me happy. Joseph told me this morning “Oh, you seem much happier today, what changed?” and I replied “I worked out.” So it is, that exercise has become an integral part of my physical and emotional well-being.

There were people of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels. All of us in this huge room where you could feel the energy and excitement of what was about to transpire. Tony was introduced as a down to earth, humble man… I thought to myself “really?” And then Tony walked on the stage. He did a couple of poses, showed off his abs, all in a playful way all to “oohs” and “aaaahs” from the boys and even more cheers from the girls (alright, I confess… even me). The man is 52 years old and he looks hot, so in my book he is totally and completely entitled to show off

We then started the warm up, all of us in that room. I was concerned because it was a little tight but we all managed to move around and workout. The workout was amazing. Between jokes,  laughs and tons of encouragement he guided the whole room into a workout that left me sore for 3 days (soreness of the good kind of course). The exercises were tougher than the ones on the DVD’s except there were no weights. It was push ups, planks,  lunges, ab exercises, jumping jacks, etc., with the advantage that he gave the modifiers some very cool options if certain exercise was too tough for them.

At the end of the workout, he took the time to sign each one of our books and pose for pictures. My camera had accidentally somehow switched to “movie” mode (it’s a new camera) so Tony asked us to wait so we could take the picture again… yes, he waited for us and had the patience to retake the picture how cool is that?

Not only did he wait for us, he tickled Angelina who instead of saying “P90X!” got really shy and was giggling the whole time. Never once did I see him lose his patience, or his graciousness, or his awesomeness.  People would approach him and announce: “Tony, I lost X amount of pounds!” and Tony would announce it and celebrate with them; so of course, I wanted to do the same. I said “Tony, I lost 30 Lbs. and I want to thank you.” He looked at me, and said out loud “30 Lbs, right here!” and then patted me on the arm and said: “No, thank you for doing the work.” I wanted to make sure he got acknowledged for putting the program together but instead, I was acknowledged for following it.

What I thought was truly amazing  is that he took the time to encourage us, acknowledge us, regardless of our fitness level and  spend 2 -3 minutes with each one of us, chat and joke around and he had patience with those of us who brought our children along. At the end I realized that this is just who he is… he’s just committed to seeing us succeed in our fitness goals. How awesome is that? A modern Jack LaLanne for sure

But how did he get started? Well, at 15, he listened to Paul C. Bragg give a speech about nutrition and health. It impacted the young LaLanne so much, that he changed his life around by changing the way he ate and exercising. He opened his first spa and gym in the 1930’s and encouraged women to workout and lift weights.

I don’t know if Paul Bragg knew what an impact his legacy would have that a young man would take his message of health and fitness and run with it, making it his life purpose. This just teaches us that we never know what impact our words will have in the world, seriously. Thankfully for us, there are people like Paul Bragg,  Patricia Bragg, Jack LaLanne, Tony Horton, Shaun T., Brett Hoebel, Chalene Johnson  and many others who are out there making a difference in the fitness world and thankfully for us, we have access to their trainings.

So here is to you, Mr. LaLanne thank you, your legacy will live forever.

I know I have mentioned before that we get up at around 4:00 am to workout and that Saturdays are particularly difficult because we have a 3 year old who loves to climb on us when we’re doing push-ups and of course she just wants to join in the fun, you know, why not climb on daddy’s back while he’s sweating like heck right? So today, being Saturday we decided to wake up early enough that we could still sleep in but she would still be asleep making it easier for us to workout. Okay so we didn’t quite get up at 4:00 because that would totally be crazy, but we did manage to get out of bed at 6:00 and it helped. I was hoping this morning that it would be one of the shorter, less-challenging workouts (as if there are any less-challenging workouts in the second phase). I thought, hey if it’s “Power Intervals 2” my happy butt will still get kicked a great deal but it will only get kicked for 35 minutes. To my disappointment (at first) the workout was the one I dread the most, “Total Strength and Endurance” followed by 15 minutes of “Merciless Abs” for a total of a 60 minute workout. I perspired like crazy but I was able to do ALL of the workout YIPEE! And so was Joseph! Even the “Renegade Rows.” At one point I turned to Joseph and said “I need lighter weights I think” to which he asked if I was able to do it all with the current weights and yes, I am, it’s a challenge but I can do it. So Joseph reminded me that it’s “supposed” to be challenging.

So how do I feel? Physically I feel amazing. Almost all the flab from my belly is gone, and yes I still have a little more to go. What I am starting to notice at this phase is how much firmer my muscles feel, I thought I was imagining it, but Joseph mentioned this morning how he felt firmness all over and so do I. Although it is an “abs” program, Rev Abs actually works every single muscle in your body. I don’t know about you but I have never in my life seen anyone with amazing abs and fat or flabbiness somewhere in their body, so it’s no surprise that this program was designed in a way to get amazing abs while strengthening and tightening everything else.

What’s next? Insanity and by Insanity I mean the workout program, not that I’m going to go Insane, although people look at me funny when I say I wake up at 4:00 am to workout everyday but I do what I need to do for my fitness because that makes me healthier and my family needs a healthy mommy and wife. I know it seems weird to say it but when you don’t put yourself first, you certainly cannot be there when your family needs you. My patience is almost non-existent when I don’t workout, why? Because working out releases stress, gives you feel-good endorphins, energy and the ability to focus when needed.

If you don’t like to workout it’s probably because you haven’t found a way to have fun with it. Why suffer about fitness? The best advice anyone gave me is “have fun” and I do. I like RevAbs because it has some dance moves and Capoeira. I like P90X because Tony Horton is hilarious and the workouts to me are fun. If neither one of these workouts seem fun to you, take a look at the other workouts that Beachbody offers by clicking on my links or looking at my online store on Facebook. I promise you that there is something for everyone even you, if you need help choosing which program you’ll like best, drop me a message and I’ll help you choose. You will get me to be your coach and support you on your journey to fitness for free.

I never expected that an ab program like RevAbs would develop so much muscle definition in my legs. My legs have more definition now than when I was running marathons. My abs? Well my abs are already developed and I am AMAZED this is only 45 days into the program. WOW!

These 45 days I have been using the same 3 DVD’s in the order that they tell me to do them. I am SO looking forward to moving to phase 2! I finally mastered squat thrusts so I know from experience that phase 2 will probably include some move that I’m going to hate but love.

So tomorrow we go back to our routine, this time we’ll wake up at 4:15 instead of 4:30, get up, workout and start again. Like Tony Horton says: BRING IT! Phase 2 of RevAbs here we go!!

Here are my pictures. I have posted my Day 1 pictures from May, my 90 day pictures when I finished the first round of P90X and my 45 day pictures of RevAbs so you can see the difference from where I was 7 months ago. Beachbody exercise programs work!

Click on the following link to see Tony Horton’s opinion about yoga:

I giggle when I hear someone say “I don’t workout because I have no energy,” or my favorite: “It takes too long and I have no time…” so why do I giggle about it? Because I can relate. I’m a mom, my toddler needs my TOTAL attention when I’m with her, I am also in school full-time (online getting a degree in English literature that requires a lot of writing… I am just finishing up a 6,000 word essay that is due this weekend,) I also work full time, sometimes even up to 60 hours a week. If it weren’t because of my husband who helps me get my daughter ready for pre-school in the morning and sometimes prepares lunch or breakfast (he’s an AMAZING cook so we take turns cooking), I wouldn’t be able to do it all. But truth be told, this is my health we’re talking about. I need the energy I get from exercise to be able to do everything I do. So guess what? Even if I “feel” like I don’t have the time, I SCHEDULE it and I do it.

A friend a long time ago said to me that she doesn’t workout because she doesn’t like to sweat. Well, sweating is my favorite part of working out. So is the soreness of a good workout. There is a difference though from being sore from working out and another very different is pain from having done too much too fast. The latter is dangerous because you can suffer an injury that may stop you all together from working out. You should never workout to the point where you get nauseous (yes I say it again), nor should you workout until you feel pain and, there is no need to absolutely finish the whole DVD the first time you do it. There’s time, ease into the exercises, do as much as you can while keeping GOOD FORM that’s what’s important. Doing the best you can like Tony Horton says, doesn’t mean that you should push yourself to exhaustion and bad form, it means doing the BEST you can, pushing yourself as far as it’s safe to push yourself while keeping good form to avoid injury.

I have always been very committed to exercising (well almost always without counting the past 3 years). When I had foot surgery at the end of 2001, I would workout with my foot in a cast, I’d do weights with my legs to strengthen them. The funny thing is that my doctor was shocked because although I was supposed to heal in 90 days, my foot healed in 30. So much so, that the cut in the bone he had done, didn’t even show on the X-ray, it was as if the bone was completely new. Six months later, I ran my first 5K completing it in 23 minutes (my best time ever).  But even though this may seem radical and crazy, I was smart about it, I worked out in a way that I made sure I wouldn’t hurt myself. I allowed my body to heal and recover. Even in this case, there was a smart way to workout and it payed off.

So why am I writing this? Because I’ve heard from a couple of people that the P90X caused them to feel nauseous. So to them I say: Don’t quit! Don’t let that get in the way of your fitness… just be smart about your workouts, allow your body to ease into the exercises, don’t do ALL the DVD, do what you can, you don’t have to keep up, remember the people on the DVD are already trained, have been working out for months and many even years, so don’t be arrogant. Arrogance can only cause an injury, be humble and be smart.

Tony Horton calls Plyometrics “the mother of all workouts.” And he is NOT kidding, this workout is designed to kick your butt, put you upside down and kick it again. I was annoyed and not in a joking mood. At one point I told Joseph “I hate this although I know at the end I’ll love it.”  And I was right, nothing like a good workout to leave me feeling better. I ended up using my frustration to my advantage and finished the workout. I have to say, there are exercises from this particular workout that I was unable to do a week ago. My strength has increased in two weeks.

One thing I noticed last night was that the muscles on my legs are starting to get definition in places where I never had any, not even with the marathon training. I know a lot of women don’t like muscle definition, I actually do, not only for health reasons, but also because when I see muscle definition I think to myself what an amazing thing our body is, definitely a work of art.

Working out is like anything else in life. If you don’t keep at it, you’ll never succeed. If you are not succeeding, change your strategy and find someone who can support you in changing it… a coach, a partner, someone who will help you keep your word about what it is that you will do.

One of the things that is helping me is my fantastic website. I am looking at my goals now in regards to my measurements. I know I had said I wouldn’t check, but at this point, I needed something to keep my motivated.  I’m going to have to set new goals in regards to my measurements. I have already reached them and I still have 14 days left for the first 30 days. Wow.

Yes I have a hate-love relationship with plyometrics… although it’s not with the workout itself, but with my impatience. I want to be able to do ALL the exercises… but I’m loving the process. P90X is teaching me so much, commitment, patience, persistence and the belief that no matter what, I CAN finish the program, I CAN get back in shape and I CAN live healthier.

If you are considering looking at the P90X, go to http://teambeachbody.com/firmbuttmommies

I will be posting pictures there soon.

One thing that stuck with me today is what Tony Horton says in this DVD. If you take care of your body, your body will take care of you. After this session, my skin is dripping in perspiration. I love it. I cannot imagine doing this without my hubby. We are committed to raising our daughter together and for that, we need to be in the best health possible so we can assure somewhat that we will be here for a long time.

That’s all I can say for tonight… 17 more days to day 30, the countdown continues